GAP-JOURNAL 2012/13 - AFA

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account balance: In 2011, the EU’s combined trade deficit was 150 billion €.Atthe
same time the net import bill for fossil fuels tothe EU amounted to 388 billion €,which
is more than 3% of EU GDP and more than twice the trade deficit. (European Renewable
Energy Council 2012) Therefore, actions must be taken toaddress this imbalance
as well as thechallenges of climate change and peak oil, as described above.
The RenewableEnergyDirective2009/28/EC established aEuropean framework for the
promotion ofrenewable energy, settingmandatory national renewable energy targets for
achieving a20% share ofrenewable energy in the final energy consumption and a10%
share of energy from renewable sources in transport by2020 (European Parliament and
Council 2009: 17). With the implementation ofthe directive and national policies set
out in National Renewable Energy Action plans, most Member States reached significant
growth inrenewable energy sincethe Commissionʼs last progress report.
In 2010, the renewable energy share in theEUwas 12.7% compared to 8.6%in2005. In
fact, the 2010 renewable energy shares of 20 Member States and the EU as awhole
were at the level of or above 2010 commitments set out in their national plans and
above the first interim target for 2011/2012 as shown inTable 1. Only Latvia and Malta
were below their interim targets. (European Commission 2013b) Covering 30.1% of the
total energy consumption byrenewable energy sources in 2010, Austria has aleading
role in Europe.
The EU is making progress towards meeting the 2020 target of 20% renewable energy
in gross final energy consumption. In 2010, the renewables share in the EUwas 12.7%
compared to 8.6% in 2005. With legally binding national targets growth has increased.
The share of renewables intransport reached 4.7% in2010 compared to only 1.2% in
2005. In the heating sector, renewable energy continues togrow and its share should
nearly double by2020. (European Commission 2013c: pp. 4) However, as stated in the
studyofFischer and Geden 2013, new measures will be needed for most Member States
to achieve their 2020 targets. Critical analysis of the current policy initiatives to renewable
energydevelopment reveals aless optimistic outlook for2020.
Several challenges endanger the renewable targets (European Commission 2013b:
pp.8): Authorisation and planning procedures as well as the slow pace ofelectricity
infrastructure development have been identified asimportant challenges for the renewable
energy growth. Moreover, the key challenge will be the full integration ofrenewable
energy into the EU’s electricity system. Inaddition, there has been adiscussion
about the effectiveness and the efficiency of different types of renewable energy support